Embattled State. Rep. Todd Courser has released a statement on his Facebook page today regarding claims a blackmailer forced him to attempt a smear campaign on himself to cover-up a sex scandal with State Rep. Cindy Gamrat. Courser also attached screen shots of the messages he claims he received from the blackmailer.More >

Embattled State. Rep. Todd Courser has released a statement on his Facebook page today regarding claims a blackmailer forced him to attempt a smear campaign on himself to cover-up a sex scandal with State Rep. Cindy Gamrat. Courser also attached screen shots of the messages he claims he received from the blackmailer.More >

"I said, I got a text from somebody, that says they have something on you, and I want to know what it is,'" Dan Courser said.

Dan Courser is the brother of the embattled state Rep. Todd Courser. It was that moment last May when Dan Courser discovered his brother was having an extramarital affair with State Representative Cindy Gamrat.

Both brothers have released text messages they claim are proof of a blackmail scheme targeting Todd Courser - threatening to expose the affair, unless he resigned.

"Later, he ends up saying, 'I want you to convince your brother to resign, and leave Cindy out of it,'" Dan Courser said.

Desperate to hide his infidelity, the Lapeer Republican developed a phony gay sex scandal to throw people off the trail.

Despite that, his brother believes the blackmail texts are real and not another ruse.

On Thursday, Dan Courser released text messages he claims came from the same black mailer, posting to his Facebook:

Several people have commented that they think the account of the blackmailer is a fabricated story. This simply is not the case. I also received blackmail texts from this mysterious number urging me first to convince Todd to converse with the blackmailer and later tried to convince me to urge Todd to resign from his position or else he/she would bring out destructive info. about Todd.

Below are snapshots of the texts from my droid x2 and the last one after I changed phones to my iphone 4s.

"In my interaction with Todd after getting the texts, he didn't show any sign of knowing about them or being said, over several different conversations about these texts," Dan Courser said.

So where does Todd Courser go from here?

He's resisted repeated calls to resign his seat. And what about his affair with Gamrat? Is that over?

"I think contact with Cindy has just been political, just when they had to have contact, not special meetings like it was before," Dan Courser said.

As for the innocent spouses at the center of this all: Dan Courser says they both knew of the affair well in advance of it going public.

He said Todd Courser is committed to keeping his family together.

"They both shared they're going to move forward with their relationship, and they're going to work stuff out. They're working with a counselor. They're going to make this work," Dan Courser said.

And as for his own relationship with his brother, Dan Courser said he has forgiven his brother and hopes the people of Michigan can too.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, right, stands with Ivanka Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Thursday, March 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, right, stands with Ivanka Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly during a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Thursday, March 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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